Welcome to our second installment of the Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series. Today we are taking you behind the curtain and giving you a look into the test sampling phase for the 2011 Scholarship Winning Design, Gilded Nativity Christmas Card.

Each of our card designs goes through a significant testing phase before a final design is chosen to be added to our card line. These test samples are first provided to our creative team which goes through many different samples consisting of different card stocks, colors, layouts and foil imprints. You can get a taste of some of the samples that were considered below.

Finally, once a sample is chosen for the card and the creative team does not believe any more changes need to be made, the design is passed along to our approval team. This team consists of people from our marketing, production and order departments. Since our order department is our direct link to our customers, we always make it a priority to take any feedback we receive from our customers and inject it into every part of our operation, including the card design process. Once we get the stamp of approval from the team the design becomes a brand new member of our line of cards.

Browse through some of our test samples that were used for the 2011 Scholarship winning design and let us know which version you would have picked in the poll below. Next week we continue our series with an interview of our 6th annual Scholarship Contest winner Whitney Fuertes!

Black & Gold Foil

Black & Gold Foil

Black & Silver Foil

Black & Silver Foil

Black & Blue Foil

Black & Blue Foil

Blue & Silver Foil

Blue & Silver Foil

Blue & Gold Foil

Blue & Gold Foil

Beige & Gold Foil

Beige & Gold Foil

Beige & Gold & Silver Foil

Beige & Gold & Silver Foil

White & Matte Gold Foil

White & Matte Gold Foil

White & Matte Gold Foil

White & Matte Gold Foil

White & Blue Foil

White & Blue Foil

Which test sample of the 2011 Scholarship Winning Entry do you like the most?

Wow, really interesting to see the behind-the-scenes testing! There are so many different variations to consider…must be hard to whittle down the options. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

The careful thought and evaluation that goes into the sampling phase is directly reflected in the finished product. This particular card looks stunning AND it is for a great cause. What more could you ask for? Two thumbs up!

I am really fascinated by all of the work that goes into the creation and production of your beautiful line of greeting cards. My favorite is the blue and silver foil version. I hope that it is the one that becomes a reality. I will be looking forward to being able to order it for my friends, family and co-workers. I can tell them I was a witness to the creation of a great product that will be enjoyed by many.